Cole has been an interesting horse to ride, lately. Remember Monday’s ride he was acting weird and I thought he was sore? Well, I didn’t ride again until Wednesday. He seemed sensitive in the girth area, so I switched him over the cotton string girth. I always used that girth with this saddle in the past, and no horse has ever complained about it. Cole was just so fat when I first started riding him that it didn’t fit. My sister gave me this expensive girth to use—because her horse Ranger didn’t like it.
I took him to the arena. Unlike Monday, when he didn’t want to budge, this time, he seemed very, very energetic. He didn’t misbehave, but he felt like he wanted to. I decided to lounge him. I got off and hooked the lounge line to his bridle. I had never done this with Cole, so when he started careening around, bucking and rearing, I thought maybe I should go back to lounging in a halter. Well, he still careened, bucked and reared. I then thought it was the saddle bothering him. I took it off, and he was just as bad as before. After about 15 minutes total of scary lounging, he settle down to work. I went another 5 minutes or so, and brought him back to the barn, resaddled and rebridled him.
I then hand walked Cruiser. He was bucking, gaiting in hand and dancing around the first 10 minutes. Why did I want Morabs? Why didn’t I go with Quarter Horses? Alas, I made my bed, and now I have to sleep in it. (It is great to go on a vigorous 2-hour ride and come back to the barn with a horse that is as fresh as a daisy.)
I rode him, and he was back to his normal self. What a relief. I am glad I lounged him. If he had all that misbehavior pent up in his little body, I was glad I was on the ground when he decided to expel it.
I think he needed a good turnout. The outdoor arena has too much ice in it, and we aren’t supposed to turn out in the indoor arena. Besides, after about 30 seconds of playing in the indoor arena, he finds hay scraps to eat—that defeats my purpose.
The farrier was supposed to trim his feet, yesterday, but there was a snowstorm over where he lives and he postponed it until next Monday. It wasn’t that bad by us, so I went out anyway to ride. I lounged him for 10 minutes. He reared once, but otherwise was fine.
I then rode him with no unusual behavior. I have my horse back, for now. This weekend, I will lounge him before I ride, since it is going to be bitterly cold. I haven’t even decided for sure if I will ride. Usually, if the indoor arena is below about 15 degrees F. I won’t ride. It just isn’t very comfortable. Since it is going down to 4, tonight, I think it may be too cold in the morning.
I still think he was sore on Monday. I barely rode him because of it. With him being off on Tuesday, I think he just had too much energy on Wednesday. He no longer seems sore. I really am thinking it was the girth. The week before, I realized it needed to be tighter and raised it a hole. That’s probably what caused the problem—and remember—Ranger didn’t like this expensive girth, either. The 10 dollar cotton string girth wins, again.
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1 comment:
Isn't that typical on the girth? It's like kids or pets who would rather play with a box than what came in it. :)
I'm glad they are both doing well and that they settled into their work. I hope the weather gets better soon so they can enjoy being outside and kicking up their heels again. It makes me really grateful for living where I do since we have fairly mild winters. :)
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